{"id":194119,"date":"2019-01-11T10:21:13","date_gmt":"2019-01-11T16:21:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=194119"},"modified":"2019-01-08T17:35:59","modified_gmt":"2019-01-08T23:35:59","slug":"under-a-new-law-arizona-women-seeking-abortion-must-be-asked-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/under-a-new-law-arizona-women-seeking-abortion-must-be-asked-why\/","title":{"rendered":"New AZ law aimed at helping victims of violence will ask women their reason for abortion"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Women in Arizona will now be asked to state the reason for their abortions, thanks to a new law that took effect on January 1. \u00a0Senate Bill 1394<\/a> requires abortionists to ask each woman the specific reason for her abortion, running down a list of questions that include whether the abortion is elective or for any number of medical conditions. Other questions include whether the abortion is being sought because the pregnancy is due to rape or incest, if the woman is being coerced into the abortion, and whether or not she’s the victim of sex trafficking or domestic violence. While these questions are all mandatory, women may still decline to answer.\u00a0All of the information will be used for data purposes, but it can also help women in distress if any of the women reveal that they were raped or are victims of domestic violence or sex trafficking. In those cases, the abortionist\u00a0is required<\/a> by law to provide resources that can help these women.<\/p>\n

The new series of questions updates a previous law<\/a>, in which women were asked an open-ended question if the abortion was elective or due to health reasons. While abortionists are also required<\/a>\u00a0to ask each woman’s age, race, educational background, and marital status, no\u00a0identifying information will be collected. But the bill saw strong opposition from abortion proponents, who said that the questions will make the abortion process more cumbersome and intimidating. “We also think question after question after question for patients is very shaming, or can be,” said<\/a> Jody Liggett, spokeswomen for Arizona Planned Parenthood, adding that\u00a0Planned Parenthood will be encouraging all its patients to decline to answer the questions. “You can bet that at Planned Parenthood we will be letting our patients know [that they can decline to answer] right up front.”<\/p>\n

WATCH Live Action’s video series exposing how Planned Parenthood aids abusers and sex traffickers<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n